Senate Resolution No. 823

BY: Senator GAUGHRAN

CONGRATULATING President/CEO Gerard McCaffery upon
the occasion of his retirement after 15 years of
distinguished service to MercyFirst

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body seeks to acknowledge those
individuals whose professional lives and civic endeavors serve to
enhance the stature of the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to congratulate
President/CEO Gerard McCaffery upon the occasion of his retirement after
15 years of distinguished service to MercyFirst to be celebrated with a
Cocktail Party held in his honor at the MercyFirst Campus Field, in
Syosset, New York, on Thursday, June 3, 2021; and

WHEREAS, Gerard "Jerry" McCaffery has served as President/CEO of
MercyFirst since 2006; founded in 1894 by the Sisters of Mercy,
MercyFirst employs over 600 people in 15 locations in Brooklyn, Queens,
Nassau and Suffolk County; and

WHEREAS, Together, these programs serve over 3,000 children, youth
and families each year through preventive services, family foster care
and adoption services, group homes and mother-child residences, juvenile
justice, immigrant youth programs, medical and mental health services,
and specialized residential treatment programs on the Syosset Campus;
and

WHEREAS, Remaining true to its motto for over 125 years, "Hope is
Unstoppable!" MercyFirst has ensured that children and families receive
the most innovative, effective and compassionate care available; and

WHEREAS, Gerard McCaffery graduated from Nassau Community College
with an Associate's degree in Mathematics; he also attended SUNY at
Stony Brook where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary
Education and History; he then earned his MBA from New York University
Stern School of Business; more recently, he served as a Mentor to
graduate students in Fordham University's Center for Nonprofit Leaders;
and

WHEREAS, With almost 45 years of experience leading and managing
not-for-profit agencies, Gerard McCaffery started in the field as a
Houseparent in a group home for teenage boys; prior to joining
MercyFirst, he served as President/CEO for 10 years of Seamen's Society
for Children and Families, a child and family services agency serving
Staten Island and Brooklyn, and before that, he was the Vice President
of Children's House, a non-profit child and family service agency on
Long Island, now called Family and Children's Association; and

WHEREAS, An exceptional leader, Gerard McCaffery brings a business
approach to providing critical human services with extensive experience
in strategic planning, media relations, program development and finance;
he has been involved in several mergers of not-for-profit agencies as a
means of making services more integrated and cost efficient; and

WHEREAS, Gerard McCaffery is a long-time member of the Board of
Directors of the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies, a
state-wide coalition of child welfare agencies in New York State; he
served as the Council's Downstate Vice President and was the long-time
Chair of their Accountability Committee that works with the New York
City Administration for Children's Services in improving methods to
evaluate an agency's performance in delivering child welfare services;
and

WHEREAS, He was a Founding Board Member of the Collaborative for
Children and Families which was designated in 2016 as a Children's
Health Home by the New York State Department of Health; previously, he
served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Health and Welfare
Council of Long Island; and

WHEREAS, As President/CEO, Gerard McCaffery rendered faithful,
conscientious and valuable service to MercyFirst; serving with loyalty,
honor and distinction, he was governed by a keen sense of duty and
always showed a unique grasp of human problems, earning him the
admiration, esteem and affection of his colleagues; now, therefore, be
it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
congratulate President/CEO Gerard McCaffery upon the occasion of his
retirement, and to wish him well in all his future endeavors; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Gerard McCaffery.